The various embodiments are directed to radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for use with metallic articles and/or bodies of living organism, and systems for reading RFID tags.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are used in a variety of applications, such as goods identification in wholesale and retail sales, access cards (e.g., building access, garage access), and badging and identification of employees. However, many industries have been slow to adopt the use RFID tags. For example, the cattle industry has been slow to adopt RFID tags as a means to identify particular animals because of difficulties in reading the RFID tags. In particular, depending on the physical placement of the RFID tag, the body of the animal may block the ability of a tag reader to read the RFID tag. Moreover, placing the antenna (e.g., loop or dipole antenna) of an RFID tag close to the body of the animal adversely affects the ability of the antenna to receive power, and also adversely affects the tag's ability to radiate power (for active tags) or reflect power (for passive tags). The same shortcomings affect industries where the underlying product is metallic.
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, design and manufacturing companies may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .”
Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect connection via other intermediate devices and connections. Moreover, the term “system” means “one or more components” combined together. Thus, a system can comprise an “entire system,” “subsystems” within the system, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, a RFID reader, or any other device comprising one or more components.